Japanese Robot Craze

A humanoid robot for educational purpose is unveiled by Japan’s Nippon Institute of Technology associate professor Yuichi Nakazato at the college’s campus at Miyashiro town in Saitama prefecture on Dec. 19, 2009. The robot has been developed with Japanese robot venture ZMP for use as an assistant for teachers utilizing a mobile projector on its head. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Rollebot

Japanese electronics giant Hitachi displays its humanoid robot “Emiew2″ which can move over uneven ground and small gaps on its wheeled legs at the company’s high-tech exhibition in Tokyo on July 22, 2010. Hitachi will start a pilot test at a hospital to collect data for the providing guide or surveillance services in a safe symbiosis with human. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Hondabot

Ketch, left, and Hiro-pon, members of the Japanese pantomime group Gamarjobat, take part in a promotional ninth birthday party for Japanese auto giant Honda Motor’s humanoid robot Asimo at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo on October 31, 2009. Asimo, which officially stands for “Advanced Step in Innovative MObility,” was the culmination of two decades of humanoid robotics research by Honda engineers, who first began research on the project in the 1980s and then unveiled “him” in 2000. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

9-Month-Old Babybot

Japan’s Tokyo University professor Yasuo Kuniyoshi unveils a 9-month-old baby robot “Noby” at his laboratory at the Tokyo University on June 11, 2010. The baby robot has two cameras and two microphones on its head and also equipped with some 600 touch-sensors under its skin. (credit: Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images)

9-Month-Old Babybot

Japan’s Tokyo University professor Yasuo Kuniyoshi unveils a nine-month-old baby robot “Noby” at his laboratory at the Tokyo University on June 11, 2010. The baby robot has two cameras and two microphones on its head and also equipped with some 600 touch-sensors under its skin. (credit: Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images)

9-Month-Old Babybot

Japan’s Tokyo University professor Yasuo Kuniyoshi unveils a nine-month-old baby robot “Noby” at his laboratory at the Tokyo University on June 11, 2010. The baby robot has two cameras and two microphones on its head and also equipped with some 600 touch-sensors under its skin. (credit: Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images)

Breakdancebot

A humanoid robot, “Manoi AT01,” produced by Japan’s toy robot maker Kyosho, performs a hip-hop dance at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Nov. 26, 2009. Some 200 robot makers and institutes exhibit their latest robot technology during a four-day exhibition. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Breakdancebot

A humanoid robot, “Manoi AT01,” produced by Japan’s toy robot maker Kyosho, performs a hip-hop dance at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Nov. 26, 2009. Some 200 robot makers and institutes exhibit their latest robot technology during a four-day exhibition. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Dentalbot

A dentist from the Showa University Dentistry School demonstrates a treatment on a dental patient robot named Hanako Showa, at the University’s dental clinic in Tokyo on March 25, 2010. Japan’s robot maker Tmsuk and the Showa University unveiled the dental patient robot to be used for student training, which imitates human reactions such as coughing, tongue movement and pain reaction. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Dentalbot

A dentist from the Showa University Dentistry School demonstrates a treatment on a dental patient robot named Hanako Showa, at the University’s dental clinic in Tokyo on March 25, 2010. Japan’s robot maker Tmsuk and the Showa University unveiled the dental patient robot to be used for student training, which imitates human reactions such as coughing, tongue movement and pain reaction. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Dentalbot

A dentist from the Showa University Dentistry School demonstrates a treatment on a dental patient robot named Hanako Showa, at the University’s dental clinic in Tokyo on March 25, 2010. Japan’s robot maker Tmsuk and the Showa University unveiled the dental patient robot to be used for student training, which imitates human reactions such as coughing, tongue movement and pain reaction. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Hondabot

Ketch, left, and Hiro-pon, members of the Japanese pantomime group Gamarjobat, take part in a promotional ninth birthday party for Japanese auto giant Honda Motor’s humanoid robot Asimo at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo on October 31, 2009. Asimo, which officially stands for “Advanced Step in Innovative MObility,” was the culmination of two decades of humanoid robotics research by Honda engineers, who first began research on the project in the 1980s and then unveiled “him” in 2000. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Hondabot

Ketch, left, and Hiro-pon, members of the Japanese pantomime group Gamarjobat, take part in a promotional ninth birthday party for Japanese auto giant Honda Motor’s humanoid robot Asimo at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo on October 31, 2009. Asimo, which officially stands for “Advanced Step in Innovative MObility,” was the culmination of two decades of humanoid robotics research by Honda engineers, who first began research on the project in the 1980s and then unveiled “him” in 2000. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Humanoid

This combo picture shows a humanoid robot HRP-4C, developed by Japan’s Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) showing her skills during the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo on October 22, 2009. A monster-slaying bad breath blow gun, a rain-simulating “funbrella” and a navigation-aid helmet that steers users by pulling their ears: welcome to Japan’s latest whacky inventions. These bizarre gadgets and more — some of them useful, most of them fun — went on display at the Digital Content Expo, a fair showcasing futuristic gaming, arts, medical and other technologies that opened on October 22. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Maidbot

A housemaid shaped guide robot, developed by Saitama University’s professor Yoshinori Kobayashi, delivers giveaway chocolates to the guests during a demonstration at the Robotech exhibition in Tokyo on July 29, 2010. Robotic wheelchairs, mechanical arms and humanoid waiters are among the cutting-edge inventions on show at a robotics fair in Japan, a country whose population is aging rapidly. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Modelbot

A model poses with a humanoid robot called Geminoid-F, shaped to resemble the model at a press conference in Osaka, on April 3, 2010. Geminoid-F, designed and built by Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro and Japan’s robot maker Kokoro, is equipped with 12 actuators, powered by air pressure, and her motion can be synched to imitate that of a real human being. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Modelbot

A model poses with a humanoid robot called Geminoid-F, shaped to resemble the model at a press conference in Osaka, on April 3, 2010. Geminoid-F, designed and built by Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro and Japan’s robot maker Kokoro, is equipped with 12 actuators, powered by air pressure, and her motion can be synched to imitate that of a real human being. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Newbornbot

An engineering student soothes a baby robot during a presentations at a laboratory in Tsukuba University, Ibaraki Prefecture on Feb. 12, 2010. It giggles and wiggles its feet when you shake its rattle, but will get cranky and cry from too much tickling: Meet Yotaro, a Japanese robot programmed to be as fickle as a real baby. (credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)

Rollebot

Japanese electronics giant Hitachi displays its humanoid robot “Emiew2″ which can move over uneven ground and small gaps on its wheeled legs at the company’s high-tech exhibition in Tokyo on July 22, 2010. Hitachi will start a pilot test at a hospital to collect data for the providing guide or surveillance services in a safe symbiosis with human. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Secretarybot

A receptionist robot, produced by Japan’s robot maker Kokoro smiles during a demonstration at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Nov. 25, 2009. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Secretarybot

A receptionist robot, produced by Japan’s robot maker Kokoro smiles during a demonstration at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Nov. 25, 2009. (credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)